WASHINGTON — The peacemaker is not asking permission. On the South Lawn Monday afternoon, before boarding Marine One for Ohio, President Donald J. Trump was told both Russia and Ukraine say they have not agreed to his energy ceasefire. His answer: “They agreed. You know why? Because I said, ‘You agree’ — that’s why. They agreed because I said they agreed, and that thing has to get settled.”
Then he put the human cost on the table. “That war is a disaster. Did you see the numbers that just came out this month? 32,000, mostly soldiers were killed. Young people, 32,000 killed. That war has to be over with,” the President said. “All I know is that Zelensky and Putin have to get together and end that ridiculous war.”
Asked for his message to Vladimir Putin after Volodymyr Zelensky voiced support for the energy ceasefire, President Trump said both sides back it: “I think they want to make a deal, but they don’t know how — but we’re going to get them to make a deal… They have to make a deal.” Pressed on Russian strikes, he added, “I think they’re going to make a deal. I think, actually, Putin wants to make a deal more than Zelensky.” On reports of a fresh violation, he said he would look at it because “there have been violations on both sides.”
The President also kept the door open to another historic summit. Asked whether he will meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un during his Asia trip, he said: “I may, yeah. That’ll be exciting, won’t it?” The White House has said the President will attend the ASEAN Summit in Manila on Nov. 16 before heading to APEC in Shenzhen, China, Nov. 17–19. And to Republican critics of the Russian diesel deal, he was blunt: “It’s not really a deal with me, it’s a deal for the rest of the world… Anything that could help our farmers, our ranchers, I like.”
This is peace through strength in real time: energy leverage, pressure on both capitals, and a Commander in Chief who counts the dead and demands it stop. Watch Rapid Response 47’s video of the President’s remarks.
